''Golda's Balcony'' is a play by

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...

. It follows the trajectory of the life of

Golda Meir Golda Meir (; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was the prime minister of Israel, serving from 1969 to 1974. She was Israel's first and only female head of government. Born into a Jewish family in Kyiv, Kiev, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) ...

from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to American

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

to a leader of international

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

as the fourth

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviations, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the Israel, State of Israel. Israel is a parliamentary republic with a President of Isra ...

. Much of its focus is on the period surrounding the 1973

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

, when Israel's forces in the Golan Heights and Sinai were attacked by

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. Gibson's drama suggests Meir threatened

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

and

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

with the launch of

nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...

against her enemies, conceivably starting

World War III World War III, also known as the Third World War, is a hypothetical future global conflict subsequent to World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). It is widely predicted that such a war would involve all of the great powers, ...

, unless the U.S. came to her country's aid. Gibson first explored Meir in 1977 in his multi-character work ''Golda'', which was produced on Broadway with

Anne Bancroft Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, tw ...

in the title role. Never fully satisfied with the piece, he decided to tackle the subject matter, this time in the form of a one-woman play. ''Golda's Balcony'', produced by

David Fishelson David J. Fishelson (born July 24, 1956) is an American producer, playwright, and director for film, theatre, television and radio, based in Manhattan since 1982. He is best known for being the lead producer of ''Golda's Balcony'', the longest-ru ...

, opened Off-Broadway at Manhattan Ensemble Theatre ("MET") on March 26, 2003, where it sold out its entire 16-week run. Three months after closing Off-Broadway, the MET production, also starring Tovah Feldshuh and produced by Fishelson (directed by Scott Schwartz), opened on October 15, 2003 at the Helen Hayes Theatre, where it ran for 14 previews and 493 performances, making it the longest-running one-woman show in Broadway history. Feldshuh was nominated for the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Actress in a Play and won the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Outstanding Solo Performance. In 2006 the play was adapted into a film of the same title, starring Valerie Harper. In 2019 a 4-camera shoot of the play, starring Tovah Feldshuh was made into a film called '' Golda's Balcony'' for

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

only. By April 2019, this new film was in 24 announced

s in the United States.“Golda’s Balcony, The Longest-Running One-Woman Show in Broadway History Is Now a Film ”
''Golda's Balcony, The Film (2019)'' website. Retrieved January 25, 2019. The term "Golda's Balcony" refers to the nickname given to an area inside the secretive Dimona nuclear weapons facility from which visiting VIPs can observe some of the activity taking place in the underground portion of the facility.

References

External links

2019 FILM VERSION WEBSITE

Internet Movie Database listing

Internet Broadway Database listing

Internet Off-Broadway Database listing

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldas Balcony 2003 plays Plays by William Gibson (playwright) Broadway plays Plays for one performer Plays set in the 1970s Monodrama Biographical plays about politicians Plays set in Israel American plays adapted into films Cultural depictions of Golda Meir